Her Freedom
by Kei. M
Summary: On Sherry's 18th Birthday, Leon offers her something she never thought she'd be able to have: Her freedom. But at what cost?


The Heckler and Koch VP70. This was Leon S. Kennedy's gun, the first and last gun he had been entrusted with during his brief stint as an officer for the Raccoon City police department. It felt heavy, but familiar, and with it he felt safe. With slight effort he turned his attention to the other gun laying near his arm. The Silver Ghost. This was to be his new firearm, built completely from scratch by Joe Kendo, the brother of the man who created Chris and the other S.T.A.R.S members Samurai Edges. It was a piece of art, but regardless, the attachment Leon felt for his old firearm could hardly be ignored. It wasn't something the former-cop could easily discard.

"Well, buddy. It's been one hell of a ride" Leon whispered, slowly pulling the clip from the gun, placing it gently on the wooden table he sat behind. With his left finger he pulled down the bar, and removed the slide with more care than the gun probably needed but it felt appropriate to him. He wanted to savor it. It wasn't a difficult disassemble, not at all complicated, but seeing the slide, spring and clip placed neatly beside the rest of the weapon made it seem like a complicated puzzle he wanted to solve again.

"Leon?"

For a moment Leon was caught off guard, but when he saw the face of Sherry Birkin he immediately relaxed. Six years had passed since he had first met her, and today, on the day of her birth, she seemed no different. Detached and distant, but no longer a little girl. Her face had matured but still maintained a youthfulness that kept her looking younger than her 18 years. Her hair, similar in style to that of her childhood, was tied into a short ponytail. She had a similar style to Claire Redfield, the third survivor of their group from Raccoon City with whom Sherry had a close relationship during. Leon wondered if Sherry would have warmed up to her as much had they met now. The thought made him chuckle.

"Ah, so you finally made it, Birthday Girl. I got your gift over here."

"Don't call me that." She groaned,embarrassed by the nickname, as she approached the older man sitting before her. Leon sat up from the stool and motioned to the disassembled pieces on the table. Sherry looked toward it quizzically as Leon grabbed his new handgun from the box laying beside it. It's shiny steel slide caught the light briefly as he stepped past the table and took aim at the target in the distance.

"Today, you're going to learn how to shoot."

With a loud shot, a small hole appeared in the silhouette of a man in the distance. Dead centre. Sherry was impressed, but she had never doubted Leon's talents. For someone as selfless as him, she wondered if this had been his way of showing off.

"Seriously..." Sherry whined, walking up to Leon's old gun laying in pieces before her, "When you got authorization to take me into the city I was expecting something a little more...I don't know, normal?  
"We said Goodbye to normal years ago, don't you think?"  
"Maybe. Though, that doesn't mean I have to resign myself to it." and with a click that caught Leon's attention, the VP70 was reassembled and in Sherry's hand. Leon stood shocked.  
"What?" She asked, " You think I haven't seen you take this thing apart enough to know how it works?" Leon could only smile proudly as he stepped aside for the blonde to take his spot. When she took her place facing the target, she half expected Leon to approach her and offer assistance but she never quite understood how Leon operated. Surely, he expected the best out of his allies and never coddled them. Was that how he saw her? Thinking back to him carrying her weakened body deep into Umbrella's laboratories seemed like an entirely different person, he cared so much back then but the years battling against Umbrella's viruses had hardened him quite a bit. Not that he wasn't still a caring individual, in fact, Sherry might accuse him of caring too much but he wasn't much for letting people know it, his sarcastic wit always annoyed his friends and colleagues but he always got a smile out of their agitation, that was Leon's way of being friendly.

"Leon, I feel stupid." Sherry laughed, shifting her position but Leon had stopped smiling.  
"I suggest you get over it."

Sherry felt her blood run cold from his words. After Umbrella had collapsed Sherry had still never quite felt like she was safe. She was lucky the G-virus' mutation had been stopped, but her resistance to the virus had made her an 'object' of interest toward the government. She had become, like her father, a product of Umbrella. Though she had hoped the years held in isolation would eventually become nothing more than a distant memory Leon's words just made her feel incredibly childish. Still grasping to a grandiose dream that could never become true. Was it truly like he said? Was the hope for normalcy truly dead? Sherry lowered the gun.

"Sorry." he muttered.  
"It's fine..." For a few moments the room fell to silence.

"I got a job." Leon had been the one to cut the silence, as Sherry assumed he would, but his comment didn't make much sense.  
"What do you mean you got a job? You have a job." Sherry asked, turning to him in confusion. Without meeting her gaze he continues,  
"As of next week, I've been assigned to the protection of the President's family" Sherry's mouth slowly dropped, Leon's figure blurring amongst the flurry of thoughts rushing into her head.  
"In Washington?" A stupid question, but one with an answer she had to hear. Instead, as their eyes finally met, he answered with a subtle nod of his head.

Yes.

Instinctively Sherry took a step toward him, wanting desperately to plead him to stay. But she stopped her step, and forced a smile. If there was one thing she knew about Leon's job, it was the importance of Leon's ability. If it was decided that protecting a ditzy socialite was an important usage of his talent then it was the best decision for everyone, though it did nothing to quell her increased nervousness. Leon was a definite asset, not only for his talents in combat but also due to his experience dealing with bio-weaponry. In a time where terrorism was a common topic of interest in the news it was easy to wonder if the President and his family could be at risk, but Bio-weaponry seemed a bit drastic. President Graham wasn't exactly the portrait of the ideal President and his election had caused quite a stir in the media as well. Leon could easily read her expression and instead opted to change the subject.

"Come on Birthday Girl, no more stalling, let's see you shoot."

Sherry sighed and returned to look at the target,

"Stop calling me that."

Leon couldn't hold back a smirk as he finally approached her. He had planned to help her with the first shot anyway, but once she surprised him with her ability to reassemble the gun, he had waited to see if she would surprise him again.

"First of all, you're going to have to relax." Sherry nodded and quickly complied with Leon's instructions, allowing her muscles to calm out of their tensed nervousness. She could feel her face warm with slight embarrassment as he shadowed her from behind. Firmly she held the gun, careful not to hold too tightly. Her targeting stance was directly influenced by the way Leon had always stood, an action which he quickly noticed and one which flattered him.

"Alright, you seem all good. Now, I want you to-well, you see the sight? "  
"Ya."  
"Okay, I want you to use the sights to aim the gun, once you've aligned it with the target I want you to gently pull the trigger"

Sherry nodded again, swallowing her fears and doubts, as her slender finger pulled against the trigger. With a bang, the soft recoil of the gun pushed against Sherry's arms and expelled the bullet at the target. Sherry dropped the gun to her side as she admired the mark of her first shot. It wasn't as close to Leon's shot by any means but an impressive first shot regardless. She was a natural.

"Wow." Sherry muttered, turning back to Leon and handing the pistol back to him. He nodded to her and returned his attention to the Silver Ghost, never making an effort to take the VP70 back.

"I want you to keep it for now, practice with it, maybe it'll bring you luck."  
"Luck? For what?"

He bit his lip and placed his fire arm into the weapon belt beneath his jacket and with firm authoritative steps Leon approached Sherry and gripped his hands on her shoulders, gazing seriously into her eyes.

"If you want to get out, you know what you have to do!"  
"What...?"  
"Benford mentioned it a few months back, offhanded of course, If they knew you had the capabilities to defend yourself they wouldn't need to keep you under constant surveillance and the only way they'd know you were capable is for you to get trained."

Becoming an agent had always crossed Sherry's mind, she had a strong appreciation for Leon's line of work and had always wanted to do something to defend others, her parents had done such incredible damage against humanity and the outcome of their sins still flowed continuously within her blood but the memories forever clawing against her heart always kept her distant from the idea. When Leon went to South America and ended up face to face with the T-virus again, she had recognized that this wouldn't be the last time zombies would be walking the streets of another unfortunate town. She heard the details through pieced conversations, and eventually from Leon himself but it scared her deeply. Though Leon remained unscathed, his partner was wounded beyond recovery and was forced to leave the line of duty. Manuela Hidalgo, the girl whom Leon had saved during the mission, bore a similar burden to Sherry and the two became acquaintances, but how many times could she revisit the events that transpired against her in Raccoon City? How many more times would she witness a father infect his daughter and have to live with the poison of Umbrella's virus course through her veins? She didn't want to know.

"I don't know if I can do that Leon." She felt cowardly and despite her attempt at hiding it, she could tell Leon knew.

"Then go back to your home and stay there for the rest of your life, never know the world outside of those walls and remain the girl you were in Raccoon City, defenceless and weak."

Sherry pulled herself away instantly. Leon hadn't been one to beat around the bush, initially Sherry had found his tough exterior an attractive trait and this, coupled with the care he treated her with, made him the target of her first 'adult' crush. But as the years went by, the feelings subsided, and instead she grew to care for him as an older brother, which admittedly made him easier to argue with.

"How dare you." She shouted back, her grip against the gun tightening, but Leon simply looked at her hand and smiled. She had already become comfortable with the weapon in no danger of accidentally setting it off. She held it as if it was second nature.

Leon turned away, adjusted his jacket and gently shrugged the hair out of his eyes. It made him look quite dashing, which annoyed Sherry even more.

"I have to go. Jackson will be waiting outside for you to finish, I suggest you keep practicing and I expect my gun to be returned in the same condition." Without a second glance he exited the building, the heavy door closing with a loud crash.

Sherry stood frozen in spot for a few moments, allowing the silence to settle back into the room. She looked back down to examine the Heckler and Koch VP70. This was Leon S. Kennedy's gun, the first and last gun he had been entrusted with during his brief stint as an officer for the RPD. It felt lighter than she expected and with it she felt some sort of hope. She took a deep breath, embracing the silence and allowing her body to relax. She refused to be the person she used to be and so, without any hesitation, Sherry turned back to the target, took aim and pulled the trigger.

**Authors Notes:**

Unfortunately, I can't say I'm a great author by any means, but I intend to keep practicing to get better! All comments and criticisms are welcome, though I ask you to please keep them constructive! I want to improve not get completely discouraged :P


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